1/10th the Price? To Good to be True!

progeCAD 2011 Released

noreply@blogger.com (progeCAD IntelliCAD) — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 14:29:38 PDT

Portland, Oregon, USA, 25 July 2011 - progeCAD USA, (www.progecad.us), a leader in 2D/3D CAD software, has announced the release of progeCAD® 2011 Professional, the next major release of the proven AutoCAD® replacement Computer Aided Design software.

progeCAD 2011 Professional, an alternative to high priced CAD systems such as AutoCAD®, allows designers to become productive immediately using a similar menu structure, similar commands, and the same DWG drawing file format as AutoCAD®, at 1/10th the price, and with little or no learning curve for former AutoCAD® users.

progeCAD 2011 Professional has been optimized for Microsoft Windows® 7, taking advantage of the special features included and achieving full compatibility with the preferred Windows Operating System. progeCAD is poised to not only dominate the low cost CAD market but also to meet the demands of customers whose use of Computer Aided Design spans many industries and domains.

Designers, drafters, engineers, architects and other professionals will be able to speed up the drawing process thanks to over a million ready-to-use blocks, included through a special agreement with TraceParts, an online repository of CAD blocks, symbols, and models available in most cases at no charge.

New Block Manager

Those familiar with progeCAD have most likely used the A.L.E. Block Manager and can testify to its somewhat dated interface. The progeSOFT team went to work on a completely new and different Block Manager called iCADLib. The iCADLib Module enables intuitive and seamless work when creating, saving, inserting, and working with blocks in your drawings.

The new Block Manager contains over 20.000 2D/3D ready-to use blocks for various industries such as Construction, Architecture, Mechanical, Electrical, Electronic, Bedrooms, Bathrooms, Kitchens, and others.

EasyArch for 2D Architecture

The new progeCAD 2011 version includes a plug-in for architects at no extra charge called Easy-Arch, an automated building tool designed to increase productivity in architectural, interior design, and renovation. The Easy-Arch tool is designed to facilitate architectural and interior design providing parametric elements to quickly and easily create such building elements as walls, roofs, openings, stairs and many other architectural objects.

Over 100 Million Choices.

progeCAD 2011 Professional has added integration of the TraceParts online content library. This feature is of particular interest and usefulness for Mechanical Designers and Engineers. TraceParts also includes electric, electronic, agricultural, furniture and many other parts libraries to satisfy the professional needs of CAD professionals from a wide range of sectors.

The TraceParts portal is one of the biggest parts libraries in the world offering over 100 million 2D and 3D CAD models. The new progeCAD 2011 Professional version provides personalized and exclusive access to the TraceParts library with unlimited and free download of any elements from the catalogues as well as different parts complying with the following international standards: ANSI, ASME, BS, JIS, DIN, ISO and UNI.

The downloaded components are seamlessly integrated in the iCADLib blocks libraries and can be quickly inserted into your drawings exactly the same way you work with the other iCADLib blocks.

iCARE Subscription and Support

Introduced with version 2011 is the iCARE Subscription service. The new iCARE Subscription maintenance and support program offers a variety of benefits to help customers get the most out of their progeCAD software. It enables the Customer to cut down upgrade costs and receive comprehensive technical assistance via the web within the new help desk service. The progeSOFT developers can organize, track, measure, and respond through ticket, email, live chat and remote support.

Current progeCAD users can upgrade to the latest version at a significant discount to the already-low price of the full version. progeCAD 2011 Professional proposes very flexible licensing: Single Plus licenses allowing for desktop and laptop install, Network NLM licenses with a Take-Away technology for remote work, a USB portable license allowing you to work on any computer with progeCAD installed by plugging in the USB dongle, and Corporate licenses with unlimited installations at an unrivaled price.

Free 30-day Trial

The new version of progeCAD is available for immediate download at the progeCAD USA website.
For more information about the latest version of progeCAD, follow this link: Learn More

About progeCAD USA

progeCAD USA (www.progecad.us), the North American progeCAD representatives, offer progeCAD shipping with several different options including NLM Network, USB Mobile, and affordable Site Licensing. progeCAD Add-on products in land design, architecture and mechanical are also available. Download the Free Full 30 day trial versions of our software when you visit our website.

progeCAD is either a registered trademark or trademark of ProgeSOFT, in the USA and/or other countries. progeADD-on, progeBILLD, progeEARTH, progeOFFICE, progeTABLE, progeDATA, progeWORD are registered trademarks or trademarks of progeSOFT North America in the USA and/or other countries. IntelliCAD is a registered trademark or trademark of the IntelliCAD Technology Consortium in the USA and/or other countries. AutoCAD, and AutoLISP are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders.

Contact Information

progeCAD USA
12042 SE Sunnyside Rd.
Suite 591
Clackamas, OR 97015
USA
Email: info@progecad.us
1-800-975-iCAD (4223)

Free 30-day trial of progeCAD 2009 Professional: Click Here to download...

USPTO Says to Autodesk: DWG not only for Thee...

noreply@blogger.com (progeCAD IntelliCAD) — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 16:33:33 PDT

So, as an Autodesk stockholder you are by now used to the company using their billions of dollars of income to legally pick on others and to attempt to corner the market through legally snowballing anyone who dares get in their way.

With the new "A corporation has the same voice as a human" supreme court flub where they dropped the regulatory ball and showed the american public just how corrupted our government has become by ruling the corporations of the world had as much right to dump unrestricted money (bribes) into the hands of our
"best and brightest" and most easily swayed legislators to help them get "re-elected" in return for "political favors", as an individual american citizen's rights, it was a surprising development to see that the USPTO, short for the United States Patent and Trademark Office, rebuffed yet another attempt by the Sausalito Sandbaggers (Autodesk) to confiscate yet another all encompassing trademark, the file extension DWG.

That run-on sentence was intended specifically to show the length of time that the corporation has been using their thug lawyers to drown out the efforts of the masses to throw off the tyranny of the oppressed.

According to Ralph over at WorldCAD Access (http://worldcadaccess.typepad.com/), the issue has a ruling, but is still not over.

DWG is merely descriptive of applicant’s goods under Section 2(e)(1) of the Trademark Act for two reasons: (1) DWG is a recognized abbreviation for “drawing," and (2) .dwg is a file format used for computer-aided design (CAD) drawings made both with applicant’s CAD software and others’ CAD software.

The legal issue that takes a licking but keeps on ticking is still up for one more college try by LegalDesk as noted below:

Now, Autodesk does have six months to respond in a way that fully satisfies the problems addressed in last month's decision. Otherwise, the decision is FINAL.

Among the noted uses of DWG in everyday use was one particular interesting acronym, "Dead White Guy" which will be what most likely happens to us before the perpetual corporation is finished killing a particular horse that refuses to kick the bucket.

At least they are persistent. How do you feel about the company everyone loves to hate being involved with one more legal issue, let us know in the comments below...
Free 30-day trial of progeCAD 2011 Professional: Click Here to download...

1/10th the Price? Too Good to be True!: Architectural 3D Projection Mapping, a new art medium to astound [Digg]

Digg — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 23:41:06 PDT

Incredible images of actual 3D projection mapping on Architectural landmarks. Puts the plastic wrapped Florida Islands of Christo to shame...

Architectural 3D Projection Mapping, a new art medium to astound

noreply@blogger.com (progeCAD IntelliCAD) — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 09:32:00 PDT

Image via Wikipedia

I swear, sometimes I feel like I must be living in a container where no new information enters, and obviously, due to that, no new information leaves. I gave up watching television years ago and therefore I don't have some big pipeline dumping into my brain every day. However, not being on the cutting edge of what is cool, now, and happening all the time makes some things very cool, very now, very happening for me. Like when I discover something new that begs the questions, how in the hell did they do that? and who thought of doing that?. Almost the same question I suppose.

There is a new... for lack of a better word medium for, well, for artistic enjoyment in it's pure form, and a whole advertising industry, if we take to it's logical monetary end. It's called Architectural 3D Projection Mapping and I am quite positive some of you will really appreciate the possibilities.

If you've ever had the chance to see any of the works by Environmental Artists named Christo and Jean Claude you have an understanding of pushing the definition of "Art" beyond the closed in spaces of galleries or even the statue depicting this or that great hero, used as a temporary resting point for pigeons in the park.

Image via Wikipedia

I was never a fan of the large expanses of pink plastic they wrapped around some islands in Miami, or the Umbrellas stretching from Japan to California. I just felt like it was simply so easy for anyone to do it that it was not really artistic talent, but a need to be famous. Artist's to me at that point so many years ago when I was exposed to their type of art was performed by people who were talented in things I was not talented in, such as, well, artistic things, heheh. I can appreciate others views and it was their label and who am I to disagree.

The talent level between one of their "spectacles" and what I discovered recently is the talent that must have been developed not only by the creators of the actual scenes, but the programmers and other "artists" who made the hardware that creates these fantastic shows must be simply tremendous, beyond what is considered normal, and unique as well. 3D Projection Mapping, is, well, think of it as holograms on steroids. It's taking an Architectural landmark, or even just any old building, and mapping special effects on to the features of the building. That probably is not very clear, and you will have to see it to believe it.

and it has to be one of the most impressive things I have ever seen...

I am sure some of you have seen this new medium before, but even if you have you will probably enjoy seeing it again, and again... I know I will, it is, well, one of the coolest and most impressive things I have ever seen... so without further speech, as it just does not do it just, please take a moment and watch this Architectural 3D projection "concert" for lack of a better term. Let me know what you think in the comments below, I hope it's not just me who is totally amazed by this... Enjoy!
Architectural 3D Projection Mapping Video

Free 30-day trial of progeCAD 2009 Professional: Click Here to download...

CAD & 3D: iCADMac : OSX version of progeCAD [Digg]

Digg — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 13:50:47 PST

CAD & 3D: iCADMac : OSX version of progeCADFree 30-day trial of progeCAD 2009 Professional: Click Here to download...Full Free 30-day trial of progeCAD Professional, Download Now!:> Click Here to download...

CAD & 3D: iCADMac : OSX version of progeCAD

noreply@blogger.com (progeCAD IntelliCAD) — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 13:50:15 PST

CAD & 3D: iCADMac : OSX version of progeCAD

Free 30-day trial of progeCAD 2009 Professional: Click Here to download...

How to Determine Scale Factors in a Paper Space/Model Space World [Digg]

Digg — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 22:41:24 PST

How to Determine Scale Factors in a Paper Space/Model Space World

noreply@blogger.com (progeCAD IntelliCAD) — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 22:41:04 PST

This artical was originally published in 2004

A user entered a question into our forum that is quite common for those who are new to CAD or new to progeCAD's interface...

"how does one set up dimensioning to properly display the underlying scale of the viewport?"

As for your question, it is probably the most asked question of all we receive from customers. The entire viewport, mviews, paper space and model space was confusing to every one when it first was displayed within AutoCAD back in the early 90s. We had been used to nothing but model space, drawing everything at full scale, and then applying a scale factor to our text and dimensions to get them to be the correct size.

Even after paper space and model space came out we continued to apply our dimensions and text to the entities in model space and gave it a scale factor so that when it was viewed in the "paper" it displayed properly.

In those days it would have been insane to put your dimentions into paper space since there was no way to ensure the model would not be moved underneath the paper, although now we have the ability to lock the mview. Although now that I think about it that would not stop someone from moving the model underneath, but I digress...

So the answer to your question of where to put your dimensions is not a straightforward answer unfortunately. There are those who will argue one method or the other is better, and there are probably some who advocate both methods.

So lets look at both methods. The easiest way I found to understand the whole idea of ps/ms is to think the other paper space on your screen as a sheet of paper (obviously), but not just paper, but a special magical type of paper that can fly through the air and precisely focus on a particular object moving in closer or farther away to get precisely the scale of the object it needs to display correctly for a designer or engineer. See, this is magical paper!

So, you take this paper and you cut a hole in it (an Mview?) and look through, and focus on the object you wish to display. Perhaps you look at the top, or you fly around to the side and look through, move farther back to make the object fit in, or up close to see the "details".

Once you have the proper view scale to see the entire object within your viewport you know the scale factor that the object is displayed at. Actually you go at it the opposite way providing scale factors to the MS viewport until the object is zoomed correctly at the scale factor you need. We would use the "xp" option for the zoom command to zoom "times (x) (p)aper space".

On a sidenote, you

Image via Wikipedia

can really tell the age of an AutoCAD junky when they start talking about zooming to scale factors and such. I believe it is much easier now to simply apply a scale factor to your viewpoint using the progeCAD properties panel. Click on the mview viewport and and look at the properties panel, one of the options is scale. In this case enter 48 and you are set.

Once we know the MS scale factor we can apply this scale factor to any text or dimension we put inside model space referencing the object. So 1/8" text on a 1/4"=1' drawing would be 1/8" x 48 (48 being the size you would have to scale that building you shrunk down to get it on the paper back to it's original size). You can find the scale factor by dividing 12 inches (ie. 1 foot) by the left part of the scale above (1/4") which equals 48. So the result is that we put our text in at 12" high.

Remember to place these on different layers dependent on the view you are working with and you can then control their display dependent on the view you are looking at. When you plot, simply changeover to paper space and plot your drawing at 1:1 and the dimensions and text will be the correct size on paper.

So, thats how to put them into model space, how do we put them into paper space. The answer to that is easy. Whenever you plot in paper space you plot one to one, so you simply place text and dimensions the same size as you want to see them on paper. You still have to scale the objects within the mview but the magical paper should help you with that!

Hopefully this clears up more than it confuses and allows you to go forward with successful scaling and mviewing!

Free 30-day trial of progeCAD Professional: Click Here to download...

Where exactly is this Proxy Hell? [Digg]

Digg — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 17:42:13 PST

Where exactly is this Proxy Hell?

noreply@blogger.com (progeCAD IntelliCAD) — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 17:39:14 PST

This article was posted originally over 4 years ago and the situation has not gotten any better. In fact, we are starting to hear from a few folks who are experiencing circumstances similar to those examined in the following article.

Rogue Software, or, software that is made to impede your ability to freely move your design drawings from one CAD software companies products to another, is quite simply in my opinion bordering on anti-competitive. Your choice? Take your data and go to another vendor for the Tools you use every day. Quite investing in the kind of software that is so selfish that it essentially ruins DWG drawings, specifically products from Autodesk, and often third party developers who have partake of this scheme to control the design future of all who use the software, I believe they need to be investigated by legal authorities to understand how the monopolization of CAD has been brought about, and is going to get a lot worse as the transition to cloud computing begins appearing. If I were responsible for the future of my architectural firm, or my companies design tools, I would be careful about heading down that path.

Scenario: Working on a large design project for a swimming pool complex and tasked with defining the locker rooms layout. Working with a large AEC firm with requirements t

Image via Wikipedia

o use AutoCAD drawings to complete the project. AEC firm agrees to supply base drawings showing walls, doors, plumbing, etc. for the design. Monday morning, ready to tackle the job and get rolling, expected to have the design finalized by Friday. Project is tight but we think we can get it done with the help of the original design drawings. until we try and open them using AutoCAD. The drawings load fine but there are no walls, doors, or anything we can use to complete our design. What is going on? A call to the AEC firm tells us that they are not using AutoCAD but one of the vertical products Autodesk sells. A check on pricing shows us that the $4000 we already paid for each license of AutoCAD is not going to cover, no even close, the extra we will need to pay to be able to even view these drawings. ARGH. Only choice is to request an extension from the design group and redraw the walls, doors, plumbing, etc. from scratch adding about a week onto the length of our job and eating all our profits.

What this company just discovered is the little known secret Autodesk has been sliding under the carpet as they are out promoting their wiz bang vertical applications and their API's such as ARX and Virtual LISP. Now, with the release of AutoCAD 2010, the problem is not isolated to those using their vertical applications such as MDT, ADT, or Civil 3D but the problem of proxy hell obects (what Autodesk benignly calls "Custom Objects") has crept into the main stream. Many entity types you can define now in 2010 are now custom objects and subject to the non-display on product other than those they were created with.

Why do you think Autodesk has taken this route of requiring the original application be installed to be able to view and work with these proxy objects? They had every opportunity to create their API in a way that did not create anything custom but worked with original AutoCAD entities as defined in the DWG drawing file. Evidence of this is available in third party applications developed before ARX was released. See Ketiv's ARCHT product created before ARX was invented. It had the ability to define a wall as a wall, to allow you to stretch, copy, move, etc every entity it created without the need to worry about vendors and customers downstream being able to open, edit, and save the drawings it created as everything was a standard AutoCAD entity. Why indeed...

Only one reason comes to mind when explaining the need for proxy hell objects... Greed. The ability to lock all your customers into using your products, and your products alone. By not publishing the underlying code to your custom objects you can essentially lock any ve

Image via Wikipedia

ndors out of displaying those objects and require all your customers to come to you, regardless of price, and sell them your solution without any other source of software. Brilliant marketing, and really, not a bad gamble considering NO ONE talks about it. I have seen little or no information at all from our vaunted CAD press that addresses this problem.

So is it just a problem for me? Apparently not, as there are those out there who have come to us for a solution. progeSOFT built converters into progeCAD starting with the 2007 version which will convert the proxy hell objects for MDT and ADT. Thus, those opening one of these mutated DWGs will see the proxies converted to blocks so you can at least see the objects albeit not edit them natively unless you wish to explode the blocks.

So, three cheers for Autodesk on their quest to force their customers on the continuous upgrade to oblivion path. What was once a minor problem for some has become a major problem for almost all with the release of 2010 and guess what, the only way to change the non-competitive behavior is with your feet. Walk away and find a compatible solution from a vendor who still looks out after customers first, the stock holders never.

Free 30-day trial of progeCAD 2010 Professional: Click Here to download...

http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/7432716-the-discovery-channel-telescope-at-lowell-observatory/images [Digg]

Digg — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 20:10:56 PST

Discovery Channel Television Logo; Swivel mount for the telescopes Mirror; Another view of the Mirror Mount; Increased detail of the mount; Another work day about to start in Happy Jack;

Ratings for Progesoft North America [Digg]

Digg — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 02:51:12 PST

Ratings for Progesoft at Finday: progeSOFT North America offering the number one replacement for AutoCAD in the Universe, progeCAD 2010 Professional, compatible with DWG from 2.5 to 2010, the same menus, same commands, 1.10th the price! Free 30 day trial downloads, http://www.progesoft.us

progeCAD On Mac - The Proven Replacement for AutoCAD

noreply@blogger.com (progeCAD IntelliCAD) — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 06:35:50 PST

Click to Play

Using Virtual Machines, learn how to use the Mac to design and draft your projects at a huge savings from buying AutoCAD!

progeCAD SolidTalks - The Proven Replacement for AutoCAD

noreply@blogger.com (progeCAD IntelliCAD) — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 06:32:50 PST

Click to Play

the progeCAD Team has created some nifty tools for working with solidworks files. Take a gander at this video showing you how to utilize the solidworks toolset to facilitate your use of progeCAD models inside solidworks, and solidworks models inside your progeCAD...progeCAD USA

Whats new in progeCAD 2010 - The Proven Replacement for AutoCAD

noreply@blogger.com (progeCAD IntelliCAD) — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 06:31:20 PST

Click to Play

Discover how to utilize the new features in progeCAD 2010, the Proven Replacement for AutoCAD!

progeCAD Professional Overview - the Proven Replacement for AutoCAD

noreply@blogger.com (progeCAD IntelliCAD) — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 06:29:50 PST

Click to Play

For those unfamiliar with progeCAD and it's special capabilities to save huge money on your CAD software, see how progeCAD can replace AutoCAD at a fraction of the cost...

progeCAD_SolidTalks

noreply@blogger.com (progeCAD IntelliCAD) — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 06:25:50 PST

Click to Play

Whats-new-in-progeCAD-2010

noreply@blogger.com (progeCAD IntelliCAD) — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 06:20:50 PST

Click to Play

Discover how to utilize the new features in progeCAD 2010, the Proven Replacement for AutoCAD!

How to Learn ProgeCAD House Design | eHow.com [Digg]

Digg — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 16:28:48 PST

How to Learn ProgeCAD House Design. ProtegeCAD USA released the ProtegeCAD software in 1998 for the CAD audience. The company website tauts the software as "AutoCAD-like" which makes it easy to learn for those with AutoCAD software...

1/10th the Price?: progeCAD Professional used in Design of the Discovery Channel Telescope housed at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona.

noreply@blogger.com (progeCAD IntelliCAD) — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 20:31:00 PST

1/10th the Price?: progeCAD Professional used in Design of the Discovery Channel Telescope housed at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Free 30-day trial of progeCAD 2009 Professional: Click Here to download...

The Story is Rarely How It is Portrayed

noreply@blogger.com (progeCAD IntelliCAD) — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 02:53:45 PDT

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This in response to an article published by Ralph Grabowski on his blog in which he accuses a magazine publisher of accepting money in return for exposure in their magazine, however what he doesn't tell you is the money involved with most of his stories. I have reprinted part of his article below...

"Desktop Engineering charges CAD vendors $3,995 (see update below) to be featured as their "DE Pick of the Week." Well, that's the list price; in these economic times, deals abound.

Whatever the amount, the CAD vendor get a press release issued by Desktop Engineering, whose staff copies'n pastes the vendor's name into a template, "...Selected Editor's Pick of the Week by Desktop Engineering," and then blasts it out by email."

It's interesting how everyone just assumes that what Ralph is saying is true, and also assumes that Ralph has never performed similar services for a wad of cash.

Ralph, it is somewhat disingenuous to on one hand jet set around the globe attending lavish parties and having all your creature comforts paid for by a vendor who is hoping for a great review, and on the other claiming your outrage at this practice of pay to play, acting like your squeaky clean, why? because you happend to print a small disclaimer in your articles about how the vendor paid your flight, hotel, and various meals.

Actually, you don't always get that fact into your articles do you? http://bit.ly/PAYola

For the Record: progeCAD USA, selected as the editor's pick of the week in Desktop Engineering Magazine for September 1st 2010, and the unwilling subject of this article, did not pay any amount of money to Desktop Engineering, or anybody else for that matter, to receive the selection. We actually were extremely pleased when we noticed the selection and felt somewhat vindicated due to all the fanfare that some in the press, most likely those vying for a free trip to China, have been giving essentially unproven, untested, and perhaps unreliable newcomers to the CAD market. After establishing progeCAD as the #1 AutoCAD replacement around the world, and building relationships with the CAD press in North America over the last 10 years we felt a justified sense of respect was given to our team for the hard work they have performed on progeCAD Professional, making it a serious technology for Computer Aided Design. It was not until you ran this article that we determined involvement of the manufacturer.

However, I can't think of anyone from our company, or even our customers who would feel progeCAD would have to pay money to deserve to be recognized as anything less than a top of the line CAD solution.

Here, one of our customers expresses it much better than I can: "The 2010 edition is absolutely fantastic, I am running Windows 7 Ultimate and the 2007 did not work well with it, but 2010 is a whole new world.
The ease of use is greatly enhanced, the interface is extremely user friendly and the overall product is a delight to work with.
I have and will continue to recommend progeCAD to anyone looking for a fully functional CAD program that is both full featured and economical.
Plus with all the other pluses you have exhibited one trait that in my book blows you way past and above all others, your attention to and care of customers. I guarantee you Autodesk, Microsoft, and many others could all learn from your customer care program.
Again Scott thank you and all there for your help." John Sulpher

And by the way Ralph, we didn't pay him to say that, he actually had just finished paying us, for progeCAD.

Thank you,

Scott Hucke
CEO
progeCAD USA / iCADsales.com LLC

Free 30-day trial of progeCAD 2010 Professional: Click Here to download...

progeCAD Professional used in Design of the Discovery Channel Telescope housed at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona.

noreply@blogger.com (progeCAD IntelliCAD) — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 17:47:05 PDT

Design of the $44 Million Research Telescope is accomplished with progeCAD Professional Computer Aided Design software through an educational grant program administered by progeCAD USA

Portland, Oregon, USA – September 15, 2010 – progeCAD USA (http://www.progecad.us), a long time supporter of schools, museums, and educational programs, agreed in 2005 to help fund the project by a donation of corporate licenses and upgrades of their flagship product, to help realize the design of the Discovery Channel Telescope.
Lowell Observatory, founded in 1894, is the largest private, non-profit astronomical research institution in the United States. Lowell also hosts a variety of innovative educational and visitor outreach programs to share the wonders of astronomy and science with the public. The Discovery Channel Telescope (DCT) is a project of Lowell Observatory and Discovery Communications, Inc. to design, construct, and commission a state-of-the-art, 4.3- meter (14-ft) research class telescope. Valued at $44 million, the DCT will significantly advance Lowell’s research capabilities to help expand our understanding of the universe.
Just as important, the partnership with the Discovery Channel, whose current operations include 29 global networks in over 170 countries, will bring the fascinating world of astronomical science and education to more than 1.6 billion people every day.
More information about the project and design of the Discovery Channel Telescope and about other famous progeCAD customer's is available in our customer Hall of Fame section online at http://www.progecad.us/index.pl?id=104974
After researching various CAD software options with respect to performance, price, custom features, and technical support, progeCAD 2010 Professional was the obvious choice. DCT engineering and technical staff confirms that progeCAD Professional delivers highly reliable and robust performance thus improving the ease and speed of design work. progeCAD Professional has also shown to be readily compatible with other software programs in use by the DCT project team including SolidWorks and AutoCAD. Finally, progeSOFT’s proven commitment to supporting educational institutions such as Lowell Observatory yields additional value and confidence in our choice of progeCAD.
As a proven AutoCAD replacement technology, progeCAD 2010 Professional, in use by thousands of design professionals worldwide, offers the closest experience yet to using AutoCAD or AutoCAD LT. progeCAD supports the DWG file format, an almost identical command set and support files bi directionally compatible with AutoCAD or AutoCAD LT. The almost non-existent learning curve and purchase cost at 1/10^th the Price of AutoCAD, make it an attractive alternative to the higher priced CAD brands. Compatibility with the DWG format and new Windows 7 operating system give users of older, non-installable AutoCAD licenses a proven choice when confronted with the reality of purchasing an AutoCAD license.
In addition to worthy causes such as the Lowell Observatory / Discovery Channel Telescope, progeCAD donates over a million dollars a year in progeCAD Corporate Site Licenses to deserving Elementary and Secondary Schools, Universities and Colleges throughout North America.

progeCAD – Afford Your Design!

About progeCAD USA

progeCAD USA (http://www.progecad.us), the largest progeCAD distributor and direct to the public reseller worldwide, offers progeCAD shipping with several different options including NLM Network, USB Portable, and affordable Site Licensing. progeCAD Add-on products in land design, architecture and MEP are also available. Large companies switching to progeCAD are finding they can replace every license of AutoCAD or AutoCAD LT throughout an entire country for less that the cost of 50 AutoCAD licenses.

Visit our website to download your own Free Full 30 day trial versions of our software.

progeCAD is either a registered trademark or trademark of progeSOFT, in the USA and/or other countries. progeADD-on, progeBILLD, progeEARTH, progeOFFICE, progeTABLE are registered trademarks or trademarks of progeSOFT North America in the USA and/or other countries. IntelliCAD is a registered trademark or trademark of the IntelliCAD Technology Consortium in the USA and/or other countries. AutoCAD, and AutoLISP are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders

Contact Information

progeCAD USA

12042 SE Sunnyside Rd.

Suite 591

Clackamas, OR 97015

USA

Email: info@progecad.us

1-800-975-iCAD (4223)

Free 30-day trial of progeCAD 2010 Professional: Click Here to download...

Welcome to www.AutoCADforMac.com, drats foiled again?

noreply@blogger.com (progeCAD IntelliCAD) — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 17:07:24 PDT

So, I am somewhat of a visionary! Am too. I have been pushing AutoCAD for Mac (and AutoCAD for Linux for that matter) for quite a few years now. Autodesk never complained about it either, they enjoyed those checks rolling in with new customers who ran AutoCAD under Windows under Parallels under Mac OS X (cmon, keep up will ya?). That is until they decided they were going to sell a REAL Mac version. You'd think they'd have an exec call me up and thank me for the years of service in promoting to the forgotten the only available solution to get their boat anchor of a CAD system running on the sleek powerful Mac. Did they? NOPE. I got a nasty letter from a lawyer today telling me that I was, in my attempt to promote their software to Mac users, infringing on their trademark. I got a kick out of how all of a sudden all those other folks out there that are in hot water with the Autodesk Legal Team (the ALT of control alt delete), would be forgotten for little ole me. Now, if your not a conspiracy theorist you may just want to skip to the end, grab the download and be one your way, but two days before Autodesk's big announcement, which they threw together due to Graebert's big announcement, my traffic was like the ocean shore before a tsunami. all the water gone, suck out to sea, the land looking bare and lonely without water (that fish flopping over there looks rather funny). But the great wave never came back. My traffic dropped to like 1/10th of normal and has not returned. Do no evil Google says, and then when their evil cousin the ALT calls they jump into action... sound far fetched? well a little, or is it...

I just wanted to do a quick memorial to my Grandmother Alma Frank, age 97 years old, who passed away last Friday. I will miss her but am so glad she is not suffering anymore. What a wonderful lass and the coolest grandmotherand grandson could ever ask for! Thanks for listenting, back to your regularly scheduled programming.

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Desktop Engineering Editorial Pick of the Week

noreply@blogger.com (progeCAD IntelliCAD) — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 01:11:44 PDT

Open publication - Free publishing - More architectural

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Inside progeCAD Tutorial

noreply@blogger.com (progeCAD IntelliCAD) — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 01:08:40 PDT

Open publication - Free publishing - More tutorial

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Geometric Tolerance for the iPhone

noreply@blogger.com (progeCAD IntelliCAD) — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 19:30:44 PDT

Found an "app" for the iphone to reference geometric tolerancing symbols. I was really excited when I found the "app" and a few other "apps" by the developer but quickly soured on it after seeing what the "app" was. Basically it is simply pictures put on a menu system that the guy had built for his company's use and then thought: "hey, I could make a buck to two by selling these on the apple app store!" To his credit the geometric tolerance "app" is free but he does charge for the other "apps" he has listed on the app store. When you look at his page on the store the only feedback is of angry people wanting their money back or to keep someone else from losing a buck. I guess that's why I am posting this as well. He probably should not continue in the iphone application business and just stay in the machine shop. It isn't actually worth even free status. My recommendation is to forget it and get a book on machining practices instead.

shopapps

progeCAD USA offers New and Improved Release of progeCAD 2010 Professional, The Proven Replacement for the High Cost of AutoCAD Software

noreply@blogger.com (progeCAD IntelliCAD) — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 01:18:49 PDT

Portland, Oregon, USA – August 13, 2010 – progeCAD USA (http://www.progecad.us) Has Released and important update to progeCAD 2010 Professional, the “AutoCAD Like” software offering the closest experience yet to using AutoCAD from Autodesk, Inc. The progeCAD 2010 Professional version 10.0.10.8 update is free to all licensed progeCAD 2010 users and offers several key fixes that our users have requested.
These fixes are crucial for those using progeCAD to perform designs creating DWG drawings daily, including improved performance, ability to edit drawings using Dynamic Blocks, and a new Beta of the LispDefender technology which allows developers to protect their intellectual property rights when including AutoLISP source code in their add-on products for progeCAD.

The majority of the improvements to the already extremely stable progeCAD 2010 Professional for end users should eliminate those rare instances where progeCAD may become unstable and shut down without warning. The entire list of defects eliminated and improvements to otherwise excellent computer aided drafting are included in the list below.
For End Users:
Gradient hatch: improved visualization in printing
Improved performance when layouts have hidden or shaded viewports
ICAD.LSP continues loading even when reading the ICAD.SDS fails (ICAD.SDS is the loading mechanism for the Solutions Development System C++ API. SDS, an API so similar to ADS, one of the API's inside AutoCAD, that you can simply rename function names and recompile to have your version running on progeCAD Pro).
Fixed active layout in status bar when opening a drawing in paper space
Last path used to open drawings is saved correctly and defaults when opening your next design drawing
Dynamic blocks coming from drawings coming from AutoCAD are now saved correctly in the DWG 2010 version
Multileader are now save correctly as well and plotting has been improved to display these leaders correctly
Fixed change of active DIMSTYLE in dialog
Changed property palette to correctly reopen after print, avoiding a conflict between the print dialog and the property palette
Fixed isolated crashes caused by certain entity displays
Fixed isolated crashes on Trim/Extend commands
Fixed problem of command typing with Windows 7 (Chinese Version)

For Developers:
Fixed 'send of message' to VBI workspaces (VBI is another API included with progeCAD which very closely mimics the Visual Basic API included with AutoCAD)

New Features:
Added Beta version of LispDefender, a new technology which protects raw AutoLISP source code without impeding it's ability to operate. (The AutoLISP interpreter built into progeCAD is yet another example of an API which mimics the API's built into AutoCAD)
Added Proxy capability for both the automatic version update notifications and installations, and also included Proxy ability to the registration process.

Users of AutoCAD, and AutoCAD LT will find progeCAD Professional a product offering the closest experience to running those applications, close enough that there is little to no learning curve for those who have experience with the competitive CAD applications. In a matter of minutes you can be productive with progeCAD 2010 Professional, using the same drawings (DWG), Support files (hatch patters, linetypes, menus, plotter files, there the same format!), and in the process, since progeCAD is less than 1/10th the cost of AutoCAD, save thousands of dollars better put to use elsewhere in these lean economic times.
progeCAD – Afford Your Design!

About progeCAD USA
progeCAD USA (http://www.progecad.us), the largest progeCAD distributor and direct to the public reseller worldwide, offers progeCAD shipping with several different options including NLM Network, USB Portable, and affordable Site Licensing. progeCAD Add-on products in land design, architecture and MEP are also available. Visit our website to download your own Free Full 30 day trial versions of our software.

progeCAD is either a registered trademark or trademark of progeSOFT, in the USA and/or other countries. progeADD-on, progeBILLD, progeEARTH, progeOFFICE, progeTABLE are registered trademarks or trademarks of progeSOFT North America in the USA and/or other countries. IntelliCAD is a registered trademark or trademark of the IntelliCAD Technology Consortium in the USA and/or other countries. AutoCAD, and AutoLISP are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders
.

Contact Information

progeCAD USA
12042 SE Sunnyside Rd.
Suite 591
Clackamas, OR 97015
USA
Email: info@proge.us
1-800-975-iCAD (4223)

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IntelliCAD 7 Beta2 Release: Work Smarter and Faster with a Brand New Architecture

noreply@blogger.com (progeCAD IntelliCAD) — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 01:15:10 PDT

IntelliCAD 7 Beta2 Release: Work Smarter and Faster with a Brand New Architecture

Latest version of popular IntelliCAD® CAD platform incorporates a new software architecture for improved compatibility, better performance and more power for custom application development.

Portland, OR., USA, February 10, 2010 - The IntelliCAD Technology Consortium (ITC) today announced a Beta2 release for ITC members of the all-new IntelliCAD 7 CAD software incorporating a new software architecture designed to optimize the core data import/export and application programming functions critical to users of the IntelliCAD CAD platform. The IntelliCAD 7 architecture uses DWGdirectTM from the Open Design Alliance (ODA) as its internal database for improved handling of DWG files. For companies building custom applications, IntelliCAD 7 also offers the powerful DRX object oriented application programming language (API) developed by the Open Design Alliance (ODA) with custom IRX extensions specific to the IntelliCAD platform.

The IntelliCAD platform, combined with ITC member solutions is being used by thousands of companies for creating engineering and design documents from the simplest 2D room design to the most complex 3D plant construction and BIM analysis. The new enhancements to the core IntelliCAD product offer architects and engineers an enhanced user experience through an improved user interface, more efficient drawing handling and improved product quality.

Companies building design automation applications on top of IntelliCAD will appreciate the DRX/IRX API to create sophisticated commands and industry-specific custom objects that interact intelligently with other objects according to their properties. DRX and the IRX extensions provide the ability to create complex applications with custom objects similar to the Autodesk® ObjectARX® API. The unique IRX extensions offer special cursor handlers, specialized editing functions, document and layout managers and custom printing and plotting interfaces.

The new IntelliCAD 7 geometry subsystem improves graphic quality and supports a variety of graphic display devices. The extensive quality, performance and functional improvements to the IntelliCAD 7 product extends the decade long IntelliCAD tradition of incorporating new enhancements specifically requested by its members.

"When I got my first glimpse of IntelliCAD 7 I was excited about the potential of the new DRX/IRX programming environment," said Bill Wright, President of WrightSoft Corp. of Lexington, MA. "We highlighted our new automated HVAC application developed on IntelliCAD 7 at a recent trade show, and I am convinced that this is a huge step forward for IntelliCAD. We've built a real-time HVAC load analyzer seamlessly triggered by clicking on specific areas of a building. Drawing creation and export has also been significantly improved making it easier for our users to send construction documents downstream. IntelliCAD 7 offers software developers like us an ideal development environment with significant power and flexibility advantages over our old CAD platform."

New Features in IntelliCAD 7
IntelliCAD 7 offers many new end-user and development platform features:
Greatly enhanced general drawing productivity: docking properties pane and command window, layer management, Drawing Explorer, enhanced menus and toolbars, real-time rendering support, and more.
Integrated command compatibility and support for the DWG 2010 format.
New support for custom objects, including AutoCAD® Architecture objects using ODA ADTdirect to display and edit architectural entities such as walls, doors, windows, etc.

Full support for DRX with extended IRX methods; support for VSTA; new online developer help, including integration with Microsoft® Visual Studio®.
Expanded internationalization tools simplify localization in addition to the ten languages already available: single source for online help and printed manual; UNICODE support; switch languages on the fly; easier access to files for localization changes.

"We designed IntelliCAD 7 to give our member companies an improved CAD platform, utilizing the best technology available today. The Open Design Alliance has created a world class development environment with its DWGdirect libraries and the DRX programming language and those technologies are woven into the fabric of IntelliCAD 7," said David Lorenzo, director of development of the IntelliCAD Technology Consortium. "We paid attention to the input from our member community and they demand a high quality platform with excellent interactivity and performance. We are confident that they are getting what they asked for with this new release."

Availability
The Beta2 release of IntelliCAD 7 is available to members of the IntelliCAD Technology Consortium. Companies interested in more details about IntelliCAD 7 or in discussing membership in the ITC should contact the ITC directly. For more information about IntelliCAD, including case studies, please visit http://www.intellicad.org/.

Autodesk, AutoCAD, ObjectARX and Autodesk Architecture are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., in the USA and/or other countries. DWG is the native file format for Autodesk's AutoCAD® software and is a trademark of Autodesk, Inc. IntelliCAD Technology Consortium is not affiliated with Autodesk, Inc. IntelliCAD is registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office by The IntelliCAD Technology Consortium.

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More iPhone - Construction Management

noreply@blogger.com (progeCAD IntelliCAD) — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 02:56:19 PDT

For those of you invested in and using the Procore software to manage construction expending and projecting, this handy little tag-along runs with you out to the field and is eager to deliver information directly from and to your procore database back at the home office. You can take pictures, access projects, record time cards, update punch lists, even voice memos. And by golly, it is one of those apps that cost nothing and yet do more than fart! That is an excellent value, although, it could be worth so much more if it had some funny sounds...

Screen shot below:

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Handy Calculators for those who work with Geometry

noreply@blogger.com (progeCAD IntelliCAD) — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 10:48:00 PDT

Found some handy calculators today, can't remember where I was when I first caught site of them. For those of you who work with geometry (I get a kick out of that statement because practically anyone who uses CAD works with geometry in some way or another all the time, so I could have just said all of you) these calculators from Summit Applications LLC (www.summitapps.com) are available for your iPhone, smartphones, windows mobile, or your windows desktop or laptop pc.

One is the volume calculator which, according to the developer, Area Calculator enables you to quickly determine the area & perimeter of 22 two-dimensional shapes. It is possible to add the shapes together for complex surfaces. The features are numerous and more than I wish to list here but more information is available at the link below. Here's a screenshot...

They also sport a volume calculator if your a 3D type of person...

The are available at the app store for less than a hamburger: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/area-calculator/id310904430?mt=8

Then there is the civil survey app I came across when I was looking these other two over. According to the developer its made for Calculations such as Pipe Flow, Channel Flow, Vertical Curve, Tangents, Traverse, Area Calculations, etc. I tried to reach the developers site but was take to a mobile me 404 screen so I am not sure if the product is still under development or not. But, for what it's worth the link to the app store is below. Don't have a screen shot but it is a far more interesting app to look at than the two above.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/civil-engineering-calculations/id299436090?mt=8

So, for the guy or gal who has everything here is their next birthday or Christmas present. Enjoy!

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Who Gave them the rights to my icon?

noreply@blogger.com (progeCAD IntelliCAD) — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 12:25:02 PDT

I was helping a customer today when he asked a question that is asked quite commonly by users involved with the constant struggle between good and evil, the dark and the light, the conservative vs. the liberal, the capitalist vs. the socialist. And it is a valid question, no doubt about that. But, since I have been working with computer aided design, and specifically windows based computer aided design for over 25 years and I have answered the question many, many times, I just wanted a different answer, and so this time I just wanted to have a little fun with it... Lets listen to my answer to how it happened that AutoCAD has the rights to use the icons in windows to launch DWG files, shall we? enjoy:

There is a long history to that. It seems that when Autodesk and microsoft first started working together they held an Auction for the right to be launched inside of windows by the icon. This was not uncommon as these types of rights were almost on continuous auction by one computer software company or another. Well, when it was Autodesk's turn to bid, John Walker got up to speak. Now at that time Autodesk was not the megolithic gobbler of small companies for breakfast innocent company they are today. Oh no, back then they had only produced 4 or 5 generations of AutoCAD, and had a long way to go before they earned their first Billion. So John was not as respected as he became to be, and when he announced his bid people were less than patient and quiet. In fact the chair overseeing the bid process thought John said he bid his Wife. And the chairman was not very pleased to hear it. So he told John he had to get out of the hearing. Not in such kind words either. There was an uproar and at the time Autodesk felt like it had just hit the brick wall all startups face in their early years. Phone calls were made from one coast to the other trying to patch things up between Mr. Walker and Bill Gates. The negotiations lasted three days before Bill finally relented and allowed Autodesk to corner the icon market for AutoCAD. So thats why now when you click on the little DWG icon in Windows Explorer it opens up AutoCAD instead of progeCAD.

It seems a little unfair when I think about how we were not even around then. No one ever did find out what the final bid was when they finally reached an agreement but there are those to this day who say that bill gates is now married to John Walkers wife.

I went on to explain to the poor fellow that I was actually pulling his leg, that there had never been an auction, that I did know who Bill was married to but I was fairly certain it was not John Walker's wife, and that you can simply install progeCAD again and it will regain it's rightful ownership of the icons inside Windows Explorer.

It's a Friday, what do you expect. I was bored.

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The three little Architects...

noreply@blogger.com (progeCAD IntelliCAD) — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 16:46:35 PDT

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I found this news story amusing. Reminded me of Dan Aykroyd telling the bedtime story about the engine overhaul to a pretend little girl played by Gilda Radner on Saturday night Live in the 70s.

The Three Little Pigs: An Architectural Tale

Steven Guarnaccia. Abrams, $18.95 (32p) ISBN 978-0-8109-8941-2

Guarnaccia (Goldilocks and the Three Bears: A Tale Moderne) models the familiar piggy homebuilders on Frank Gehry, Philip Johnson, and Frank Lloyd Wright. The three leave their mother's home--a bungalow styled after Charles and Henry Greene's Gamble House--to design their own structures. The Gehry pig (not yet the Gehry who designs swooping, iridescent pavilions) builds a 1970s style "house of scraps" that a spiky-haired, leather-jacketed wolf gladly deconstructs. The Johnson pig, identifiable by his black-flamed spectacles, creates a glass house that the punk wolf reduces to shards. The pigs run to their brother's house of "stone and concrete," a Fallingwater look-alike that the wolf cannot budge. (If the wolf went after the cantilevering system, this tale might end differently.) Of the trio, Guarnaccia favors Wright, and the puckish architect outwits the wolf on several occasions. He plays to design fans, decorating the pigs' homes with objects by the likes of Noguchi and Starck, and his endpapers provide a visual index to the allusions. Without a background in "starchitects," though, children will need a design history lesson to appreciate this retelling. Ages 4-up. (June)

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progeCAD 2009 Professional "better than IntelliCAD" technology easily replaces AutoCAD and AutoCAD L [Digg]

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progeCAD 2009 Professional "better than IntelliCAD" technology easily replaces AutoCAD and AutoCAD L [Digg]

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progeCAD 2009 Professional, "Better than IntelliCAD" Technology easily replaces AutoCAD and AutoCAD [Digg]

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progeCAD IntelliCAD Command Reference [Digg]

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Command Reference - See all the commands and how closely they match with AutoCAD. Then save a ton of money with progeCAD. http://www.icadsales.com

progeCAD 2009 Professional IntelliCAD free download [Digg]

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progeCAD IntelliCAD uses AutoCAD DWG files, no need for conversion. No learning curve for AutoCAD users. AutoLISP, VBA, ADS programming, import from PDF, Advanced Rendering, 3D ACIS Solid Modeling included. Import and edit your Raster Images, including Raster to Vector. Comes with near 11,000 standard symbols and blocks. AutoCAD DWG File 2.5 - 2009

progeCAD 2009 Professional IntelliCAD Free to try :: progeCA [Digg]

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ProgeCAD IntelliCAD uses AutoCAD DWG files, no need for conversion. No learning curve for AutoCAD users. AutoLISP, VBA, ADS programming, import from PDF, Advanced Rendering, 3D ACIS Solid Modeling included. Comes with near 11,000 standard symbols and blocks. AutoCAD DWG File 2.5 - 2009

progeCAD IntelliCAD is AutoCAD Compatible CAD Software [Digg]

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progeSOFT North America distributes progeCAD IntelliCAD, and AutoCAD Clone Software, through it's Autthorized progeSOFT Reseller network. Compatible with AutoCAD DWG files and using the same commands, menus, fonts, and support file, progeCAD IntelliCAD is an easy replacement for AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT.